VENEZUELAN special forces have rounded up the terrorist band of far-right policeman Oscar Perez, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.

Mr Perez and his heavily armed extremists fired on national police officers during a raid in the poor hillside area of El Junquito, killing two and seriously injuring five others.

The Interior Ministry said that the gunmen also tried to detonate a car bomb.

Police managed to arrest five members of the “terrorist cell” and were forced to kill an unspecified number of others.

Mr Perez published several videos online yesterday, saying he was surrounded by the authorities.

Government officials say that his fighters shot first, though part-time actor Mr Perez claimed that he wanted to turn himself in but that the police would rather kill him first.

Mr Perez was one of those wanted for a helicopter-borne gun and grenade attack on government buildings and the Supreme Court in June.

No-one was hurt in the brazen daytime attack in the capital despite both buildings being full of workers.

Government officials believe Mr Perez was trying to derail the elections for the country’s constituent assembly, which took place on July 30. Venezuela’s right-wing opposition vociferously opposed the vote and Mr Perez appeared at an opposition rally two weeks after his Caracas attack.

Mr Perez and his gunmen had also raided a military outpost in December, stealing weapons, after which he posted a video of himself smashing a picture of President Nicolas Maduro with his foot.

The government branded him a “fanatic, extremist terrorist” and has been searching for him for months.